Clark Street residents oppose creeping commercialization
By Lynn Zerschling Journal staff writer | Posted: Saturday, April 05, 2008
SIOUX CITY -- The big sign standing in the yard at 2810 Hamilton Blvd. says it all. "HOT ZONE! BC Commercial Zoning coming soon. 193 feet frontage on Hamilton."
The sign was posted by a developer who wants to build a strip mall on the corner of Cook Drive and Hamilton Boulevard. That tract is a hot topic in another way, heating up debate among neighbors who oppose the creeping commercialization along Cook Drive.
"We are vehemently and uniformly opposed to the proposal to rezone our street as a commercial area," Pam Bennett, of 215 Cook Drive, said. "Our houses are not for sale, and we have no intention or desire to move from our neighborhood."
Whether the strip mall will be built remains to be seen. The developer, All-In LLC of North Sioux City, withdrew its rezoning and site plan proposals from the City Council agenda last week. Both the city Planning and Zoning Commission and city planners recommended denial of the site plan.
However, the planners said rezoning the northeast corner of Hamilton Boulevard and Cook Drive from residential to business use would be in keeping with the Hamilton Boulevard Corridor Study. In 2006, the council adopted that study, which calls for the east side of the boulevard to be converted to commercial uses from West 19th Street north to Stone Park Boulevard,
Hamilton Boulevard has become a growing commercial corridor, starting in 1959 when the Sunset Plaza Shopping Center was built on the grounds of the Sunset Golf Course. The plaza is now MarketPlace, owned by Klinger Properties. John Gleeson, Klinger president, said his family's ownership in that area dates to 1960. He said Hamilton Boulevard has evolved into a prime retail corridor since that time.
"It is the only north-south, four-lane street that we have in our community that serves the west and north sides," he said.
In addition to the central business district, he said the other prime retail spots are all in Morningside -- along Lakeport and Sergeant Roads , which have a number of malls ,and the growing retail strip along Singing Hills Boulevard.
Marty Dougherty, the city's economic development director, said he believes the commercial development of Hamilton Boulevard is part of a larger pattern of strong commercial growth in Sioux City.
"A number of developments in recent years, including the renovations at MarketPlace, demonstrate strong demand in the Hamilton Boulevard corridor. Also, when Bomgaars moved into the former Cub Foods last year, that was certainly a very positive development, but also filled the largest vacant space in that area."
Cook Drive proposal
Late last week, All-In LLC submitted a revised plan to use the land at 2804 and 2810 Hamilton Blvd. and 227, 229 and 231 Cook Drive. All-In LLC has purchased at least four of those homes, according to Woodbury County treasurer's records. The developer plans to buy the fifth.
"That amounts to 38,469 square feet," Jeff Hanson, the city's planning and neighborhood services division manger, said. "The building would take up 11,800 square feet."
All-In LLC did not return several phone calls seeking information, but Ed Cable of Cable Design Group, who works for the developer, said the decision about how many retailers would be housed in the building has not been decided. The center would face Hamilton Boulevard.
"There could be four to six to eight tenants there," he said.
Who would lease the space?
"The ones who already have competitors along Hamilton," he explained. "That's the kind of services and commercial uses we have been talking to." He declined to be more specific.
Commercial buildings surround the five homes targeted by All-In LLC. US Bank is just north on Hamilton Boulevard, and Hy-Vee's gas station and Vantus bank are across Hamilton to the west. Homes still sit on both sides of Cook Drive up the hill to the east of the intersection.
"The attraction (to build there) is, there is a huge traffic count on Hamilton and reasonable access," Cable explained.
An average of 20,000 vehicles per day travel the street.. The roadway is not too congested, city planners and engineers emphasized. The Hamilton Corridor Study recommends no additional curb cuts should be allowed directly off Hamilton, Hanson said.
"This will not reduce the amount of traffic on Hamilton, but it will reduce the amount of traffic conflict points, therefore increasing the safety."
In addition, traffic should run smoother later this year after 16 traffic signals along the boulevard are synchronized. In January, the City Council awarded a contract to KWS Inc. of Cedar Falls, Iowa, for $921,907 to interconnect those lights from Stone Park Boulevard south to Tri-View Avenue.. Work can begin earlier than the proposed May 15 start date , David Carney, senior civil engineer for the city, said. The company has 90 working days to complete the project.
Hanson said the Hamilton Corridor plan shows commercial zoning for a larger tract of land than All-In LLC requested.
"The plan anticipated the commercial zoning would go two more lots east on Cook Drive. That was done to get enough property so they could provide enough buffering" between the strip center and the neighborhood. Cable said the developer wanted to buy the house at 225 Cook Drive, where Nancy Selliris lives.
"I am next," Selliris acknowledged. "He wants my house very badly. I don't want to sell. Inside my heart, I don't want to move. Everything I need is right here. I can walk over to the grocery store. The doctors are right here. I can take the bus."
Cable said, "We made the announcement at the planning and zoning hearing that we were unable to reach any kind of reasonable agreement on the adjacent lot."
Buffer zone
Consequently, the original site plan called for a 6-foot-wide buffer between the commercial center and Selliris' house. That was not enough, Hanson and the planning commissioners said.
The Hamilton Corridor study did not specify how much land should sit between businesses and adjacent homes.
"It's on a case-by-case basis," Hanson explained. "In some cases, the elevation alone is a good buffer because the homes are 20 to 40 feet higher than the buildings. That is not the case here. ... Six feet is not enough."
The revised site plan calls for 20 feet.
"We will be asking the developer for a more detailed landscape plan for the 20-foot buffer," Hanson said. "The materials used in the buffer, the height of the building and the elevation of the 20-foot buffer will determine whether we support it. Things such as lowering the grade of the building to decrease the overall height of the roof line will help to act as a buffer."
Cook Drive winds up a hill from the boulevard, which means all the houses sit higher than the proposed commercial center.
Other site concerns
Hanson said All-In LLC must also address other issues with its site plan. Those include moving a driveway into the strip center from Hamilton Boulevard to Cook Drive and adding a stormwater detention pond.
Hanson said the building's roof and parking lot would provide substantial rain water runoff. Cable said the revised site plan shows a storm water retention pond on the Hamilton Boulevard sidewalk.
"The stormwater calculations will dictate the required size of the stormwater retention pond," Hanson said. "It's still too early to determine our level of support for this site plan."
The proposal will be resubmitted to the planning commission for consideration at its April 22 meeting -- at the earliest.
Opposition continues
Bennett submitted a petition signed by a number of Cook Drive homeowners who oppose the project. Irene Kucinski, who lives at 210 Cook Drive, said she doesn't plan to sell. She said she and her late husband, Leo Kucinski, longtime director of the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, moved there in 1972.
"I think this plan would bring in more truck traffic. It's going to lower the value of my home, I would think, being so close to that. I like it here."
Patrick Sealey said he and his family moved into 201 Cook Drive last October.
"I recognize the highest and best use for the property on Hamilton Boulevard is to be business. But I think only businesses facing Hamilton should be allowed. My concern is they will not provide sufficient green space behind this business to protect any houses that would remain. Also, what is the height going to be?"
He asked how long a home can sit on blocks -- such as the house with the famous round picture window at 231 Cook Drive.
Terry Nelson, city inspection services manager, said the request for the moving permit was canceled until approval is received from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources regarding an asbestos study of that house.
"We will be pushing to get it rescheduled to move or to demolish it," Nelson said. "The ordinance doesn't address this, but for safely reasons, we asked them to secure the site, which they did."
The house at 229 Cook Drive has been moved to a lot in the 4800 block of Morningside Avenue. Some dirt has been dug up in the front yard at 227 Cook Drive.
Center at 24th and Hamilton
In the meantime, another proposed commercial center already is planned for a two-acre tract on the east side of Hamilton Boulevard in the 2400 block. The land, rezoned in November 2006, is four blocks south of the Cook Drive proposal. Four houses were relocated. four others were demolished and the site was graded.
"We're evaluating a lot of different options right now," developer Kyle Kelly of Sioux City said. "There could be just one building or a building with several tenants in it. We've got some interested parties and are looking at how to piece it together to be the best for them and for us."
Construction could start by late summer, Kelly said.
Lynn Zerschling may be reached at (712) 293-4202 or lynn.zerschling@lee.net
Hamilton Corridor Study
SIOUX CITY -- Last November, the City Council adopted a plan that sets the stage to allow commercial growth along Hamilton Boulevard.
"We've had quite a bit of pressure to allow commercial development along Hamilton, particularly on the east side north of 19th Street," senior city planner Brent Nelson said. "The Hamilton Boulevard Corridor can accommodate the redevelopment of about 40 acres of land from residential to commercial land uses," the plan says. "The heavy and increasing traffic on Hamilton Boulevard renders the residential uses on the east side of the street unviable."
Traffic counts along Hamilton Boulevard are at or above 20,000 vehicles per day. The number of owner-occupied homes has decreased as people sell to developers. All sales have been voluntary.
The plan calls for significant buffering between the businesses fronting Hamilton Boulevard and the homes to the east, Jeff Hanson, city planning and neighborhood services division manager, said. "Our commitment to the neighborhoods was that the buffering would be one of our highest priorities."
The plan calls for commercial development to occur on at least quarter-block tracts. In the long term, the plan calls for medians similar to those along Gordon Drive.
"In short, market demands will eventually cause the east side of Hamilton Boulevard to develop with commercial uses," the plan says. "They can develop in a planned manner or in an unplanned manner."
The sign was posted by a developer who wants to build a strip mall on the corner of Cook Drive and Hamilton Boulevard. That tract is a hot topic in another way, heating up debate among neighbors who oppose the creeping commercialization along Cook Drive.
"We are vehemently and uniformly opposed to the proposal to rezone our street as a commercial area," Pam Bennett, of 215 Cook Drive, said. "Our houses are not for sale, and we have no intention or desire to move from our neighborhood."
Whether the strip mall will be built remains to be seen. The developer, All-In LLC of North Sioux City, withdrew its rezoning and site plan proposals from the City Council agenda last week. Both the city Planning and Zoning Commission and city planners recommended denial of the site plan.
However, the planners said rezoning the northeast corner of Hamilton Boulevard and Cook Drive from residential to business use would be in keeping with the Hamilton Boulevard Corridor Study. In 2006, the council adopted that study, which calls for the east side of the boulevard to be converted to commercial uses from West 19th Street north to Stone Park Boulevard,
Hamilton Boulevard has become a growing commercial corridor, starting in 1959 when the Sunset Plaza Shopping Center was built on the grounds of the Sunset Golf Course. The plaza is now MarketPlace, owned by Klinger Properties. John Gleeson, Klinger president, said his family's ownership in that area dates to 1960. He said Hamilton Boulevard has evolved into a prime retail corridor since that time.
"It is the only north-south, four-lane street that we have in our community that serves the west and north sides," he said.
In addition to the central business district, he said the other prime retail spots are all in Morningside -- along Lakeport and Sergeant Roads , which have a number of malls ,and the growing retail strip along Singing Hills Boulevard.
Marty Dougherty, the city's economic development director, said he believes the commercial development of Hamilton Boulevard is part of a larger pattern of strong commercial growth in Sioux City.
"A number of developments in recent years, including the renovations at MarketPlace, demonstrate strong demand in the Hamilton Boulevard corridor. Also, when Bomgaars moved into the former Cub Foods last year, that was certainly a very positive development, but also filled the largest vacant space in that area."
Cook Drive proposal
Late last week, All-In LLC submitted a revised plan to use the land at 2804 and 2810 Hamilton Blvd. and 227, 229 and 231 Cook Drive. All-In LLC has purchased at least four of those homes, according to Woodbury County treasurer's records. The developer plans to buy the fifth.
"That amounts to 38,469 square feet," Jeff Hanson, the city's planning and neighborhood services division manger, said. "The building would take up 11,800 square feet."
All-In LLC did not return several phone calls seeking information, but Ed Cable of Cable Design Group, who works for the developer, said the decision about how many retailers would be housed in the building has not been decided. The center would face Hamilton Boulevard.
"There could be four to six to eight tenants there," he said.
Who would lease the space?
"The ones who already have competitors along Hamilton," he explained. "That's the kind of services and commercial uses we have been talking to." He declined to be more specific.
Commercial buildings surround the five homes targeted by All-In LLC. US Bank is just north on Hamilton Boulevard, and Hy-Vee's gas station and Vantus bank are across Hamilton to the west. Homes still sit on both sides of Cook Drive up the hill to the east of the intersection.
"The attraction (to build there) is, there is a huge traffic count on Hamilton and reasonable access," Cable explained.
An average of 20,000 vehicles per day travel the street.. The roadway is not too congested, city planners and engineers emphasized. The Hamilton Corridor Study recommends no additional curb cuts should be allowed directly off Hamilton, Hanson said.
"This will not reduce the amount of traffic on Hamilton, but it will reduce the amount of traffic conflict points, therefore increasing the safety."
In addition, traffic should run smoother later this year after 16 traffic signals along the boulevard are synchronized. In January, the City Council awarded a contract to KWS Inc. of Cedar Falls, Iowa, for $921,907 to interconnect those lights from Stone Park Boulevard south to Tri-View Avenue.. Work can begin earlier than the proposed May 15 start date , David Carney, senior civil engineer for the city, said. The company has 90 working days to complete the project.
Hanson said the Hamilton Corridor plan shows commercial zoning for a larger tract of land than All-In LLC requested.
"The plan anticipated the commercial zoning would go two more lots east on Cook Drive. That was done to get enough property so they could provide enough buffering" between the strip center and the neighborhood. Cable said the developer wanted to buy the house at 225 Cook Drive, where Nancy Selliris lives.
"I am next," Selliris acknowledged. "He wants my house very badly. I don't want to sell. Inside my heart, I don't want to move. Everything I need is right here. I can walk over to the grocery store. The doctors are right here. I can take the bus."
Cable said, "We made the announcement at the planning and zoning hearing that we were unable to reach any kind of reasonable agreement on the adjacent lot."
Buffer zone
Consequently, the original site plan called for a 6-foot-wide buffer between the commercial center and Selliris' house. That was not enough, Hanson and the planning commissioners said.
The Hamilton Corridor study did not specify how much land should sit between businesses and adjacent homes.
"It's on a case-by-case basis," Hanson explained. "In some cases, the elevation alone is a good buffer because the homes are 20 to 40 feet higher than the buildings. That is not the case here. ... Six feet is not enough."
The revised site plan calls for 20 feet.
"We will be asking the developer for a more detailed landscape plan for the 20-foot buffer," Hanson said. "The materials used in the buffer, the height of the building and the elevation of the 20-foot buffer will determine whether we support it. Things such as lowering the grade of the building to decrease the overall height of the roof line will help to act as a buffer."
Cook Drive winds up a hill from the boulevard, which means all the houses sit higher than the proposed commercial center.
Other site concerns
Hanson said All-In LLC must also address other issues with its site plan. Those include moving a driveway into the strip center from Hamilton Boulevard to Cook Drive and adding a stormwater detention pond.
Hanson said the building's roof and parking lot would provide substantial rain water runoff. Cable said the revised site plan shows a storm water retention pond on the Hamilton Boulevard sidewalk.
"The stormwater calculations will dictate the required size of the stormwater retention pond," Hanson said. "It's still too early to determine our level of support for this site plan."
The proposal will be resubmitted to the planning commission for consideration at its April 22 meeting -- at the earliest.
Opposition continues
Bennett submitted a petition signed by a number of Cook Drive homeowners who oppose the project. Irene Kucinski, who lives at 210 Cook Drive, said she doesn't plan to sell. She said she and her late husband, Leo Kucinski, longtime director of the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, moved there in 1972.
"I think this plan would bring in more truck traffic. It's going to lower the value of my home, I would think, being so close to that. I like it here."
Patrick Sealey said he and his family moved into 201 Cook Drive last October.
"I recognize the highest and best use for the property on Hamilton Boulevard is to be business. But I think only businesses facing Hamilton should be allowed. My concern is they will not provide sufficient green space behind this business to protect any houses that would remain. Also, what is the height going to be?"
He asked how long a home can sit on blocks -- such as the house with the famous round picture window at 231 Cook Drive.
Terry Nelson, city inspection services manager, said the request for the moving permit was canceled until approval is received from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources regarding an asbestos study of that house.
"We will be pushing to get it rescheduled to move or to demolish it," Nelson said. "The ordinance doesn't address this, but for safely reasons, we asked them to secure the site, which they did."
The house at 229 Cook Drive has been moved to a lot in the 4800 block of Morningside Avenue. Some dirt has been dug up in the front yard at 227 Cook Drive.
Center at 24th and Hamilton
In the meantime, another proposed commercial center already is planned for a two-acre tract on the east side of Hamilton Boulevard in the 2400 block. The land, rezoned in November 2006, is four blocks south of the Cook Drive proposal. Four houses were relocated. four others were demolished and the site was graded.
"We're evaluating a lot of different options right now," developer Kyle Kelly of Sioux City said. "There could be just one building or a building with several tenants in it. We've got some interested parties and are looking at how to piece it together to be the best for them and for us."
Construction could start by late summer, Kelly said.
Lynn Zerschling may be reached at (712) 293-4202 or lynn.zerschling@lee.net
Hamilton Corridor Study
SIOUX CITY -- Last November, the City Council adopted a plan that sets the stage to allow commercial growth along Hamilton Boulevard.
"We've had quite a bit of pressure to allow commercial development along Hamilton, particularly on the east side north of 19th Street," senior city planner Brent Nelson said. "The Hamilton Boulevard Corridor can accommodate the redevelopment of about 40 acres of land from residential to commercial land uses," the plan says. "The heavy and increasing traffic on Hamilton Boulevard renders the residential uses on the east side of the street unviable."
Traffic counts along Hamilton Boulevard are at or above 20,000 vehicles per day. The number of owner-occupied homes has decreased as people sell to developers. All sales have been voluntary.
The plan calls for significant buffering between the businesses fronting Hamilton Boulevard and the homes to the east, Jeff Hanson, city planning and neighborhood services division manager, said. "Our commitment to the neighborhoods was that the buffering would be one of our highest priorities."
The plan calls for commercial development to occur on at least quarter-block tracts. In the long term, the plan calls for medians similar to those along Gordon Drive.
"In short, market demands will eventually cause the east side of Hamilton Boulevard to develop with commercial uses," the plan says. "They can develop in a planned manner or in an unplanned manner."
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